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Originally Posted by demue
(Post 16155438)
JUst my two cents worth on an sometimes overlooked factor. I had to do dispute resolutions with both Amex (KF Gold) and Visa (Citibank Plat) and Mastercard (German LH M&M version) I can only tell you that both Visa and Mastercard are very poor in my view how they handle such disputes.
Amex credits back the amount, contacts the vendor, discusses the issue raised with the charge and overall supports you as a card holder quite well. Visa and MC ask for tons of paperwork, do nothing for weeks and come back saying they can't do anything and that one should take legal (civil court) action. Utter rubbish. This may sound like something not important but it really pays when it happens and is needed. That's why I stick to KF Amex Gold and Citi Visa Plat combo. Yes not the most optimal version but I don't want too may cards and I really appreciate Amex service which has come through 3 times now on disputes. Also anecdotally Amex has sided with the customer, at least in the US. Dunno whether this applies 100% to Asia. Though there was one instance where I recommend using Visa over Amex - signing up for long-term fitness contracts (or any long-term service contracts). Visa allows for chargeback as late as 540 days after purchase, Amex 180 days http://www.hongkongcard.com/forum/fo...ow.php?id=4983 We in HK found an exception to this. |
Fair enough. No Fitness Club memberships for me, I'm cheap and use the one in my condo :). Both my Amex and Visa are SIN issued CCs. The disputes where done here in SIN. One with local vendor, one with US vendor, one with a UK vendor.
Either way, plenty of info in this thread for anyone to find a card for their individual purposes and needs. |
Originally Posted by aster
(Post 16155024)
In Singapore you'll find that tons of advertising is misleading.
In a general sense, the best card right now is still the DBS Altitude Amex. Of course there are "speciality cards" that earn more in certain cases, like the Citi Platinum card for supermarket/department store spend, or the Maybank one for overseas spend. So of course the ideal way is to have several cards, but if you only want to focus on one then I'd get the Altitude Amex. Transfer to KrisFlyer/Asia Miles in blocks of 2,000 miles, not flexible. If you need small number of miles, you need to spend a lot more and waste $$. eg: if you are just short of 1234 miles to do a redemption of air tickets, you waste the balance 766miles. Citibank is better, transfer in ANY amount greater than 500miles, eg: 4366miles. Also, annual transfer fee of S$42.80 applies, although unlimited transfers, compared to Citibank's S$25 per transfer. Bad side of AMEX KrisFlyer Gold: Need minimum spending of S$12k a year to get the rate lower to $0.80 per mile (bonus 50% + 50%), usual is $1.60 per mile. And the worst part is: they make you wait till February the following year to get the bonus miles part. What if you need to use the miles urgently? Annual admin fee of $60 applies, annual fee $50 is waivable. Citibank's Premiermiles card is better. Awards $0.83 per mile instantly WITHOUT minimum spending. S$25 per transfer. Annual fee of S$192.60 if waivable if you do not want the 10,000 bonus miles. 3 MUST HAVE CITIBANK CARDS IN SINGAPORE! 1. Citi Platinum Visa/MasterCard: 5x rewards at departmental stores and supermarkets. Every $1 spent get 5 Citidollars = 2 miles, ie: $1 spent = 2 miles, compared to Citi Premiermiles: $1 = 1.2 miles Citibank 5X Rewards Merchants Department Stores (Note: Citi Rewards Card awards 10x points) Tangs . Isetan . John Little . Marks & Spencer . Metro . OG . Robinsons . BHG . Takashimaya Department Store. Supermarkets/Hypermarket Carrefour . Cold Storage . Giant . Market Place . NTUC Fair Price . Shop N Save . Singapore Meidi-Ya. Sheng Siong 2. Citi Clear Platinum Card: 5X Rewards at: Nightspots - Zouk, Butter Factory, Wala Wala Café Bar, Helipad, Timbre, Brewerkz, St James Power Station and more • Cinemas - Cathay, Golden Village, Shaw, Eng Wah and more • Cafes - Starbucks, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf ®, TCC, Spinelli, Coffee Club and more • Book Stores - Borders, Kinokuniya, MPH, Times, POPULAR Bookshop and more • Music Stores - Gramaphone, That CD Shop, HMV and more 3. Citi Rewards Card: Enjoy rewards X10 (S$ 1 spend = Citi$ 10) whenever you shop for shoes, bags or clothing (Eg: BATA, Giordano, Hang Ten, World of Sports etc) or at department stores, locally & overseas. S$1 spent = 4 miles! Department Stores Tangs . Isetan . John Little . Marks & Spencer . Metro . OG . Robinsons . BHG . Takashimaya Department Store. Note: UOB Preferred Platinum American Express® Card also earn 10x points for every S$5 spent at any department store or any retail store worldwide that sells clothes, shoes, or bags as its main business activity. But it awards points for every S$5 spent. If you spend S$9.99, you will lose out the points for the balance S$4.99 part & miles are transferred in blocks of 10,000 miles, S$20 admin fee per transfer. Can combine Citidollars from Clear Platinum, Platinum Visa/Mastercard & Citi Rewards Card and transfer them to Frequent Flyer programs so that you pay the S$25 admin fee once, by calling Citibank at 6225 5225. Quote Clause 3.7 in the Terms & Conditions. Transfer in any amount greater than 500 miles, eg: 1234 miles. Every 5 Citidollars = 2 miles, eg: 3085 Citidollars = 1234 miles, hence more flexible than transferring in blocks of 500/1,000/2,000/10,000 miles. |
Originally Posted by aster
(Post 16155028)
Yes, extended thru June '11 in fact. Are you still able to get those bonus miles on EZlink "home top-ups?" :)
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Originally Posted by demue
(Post 16155438)
JUst my two cents worth on an sometimes overlooked factor. I had to do dispute resolutions with both Amex (KF Gold) and Visa (Citibank Plat) and Mastercard (German LH M&M version) I can only tell you that both Visa and Mastercard are very poor in my view how they handle such disputes.
Amex credits back the amount, contacts the vendor, discusses the issue raised with the charge and overall supports you as a card holder quite well. Visa and MC ask for tons of paperwork, do nothing for weeks and come back saying they can't do anything and that one should take legal (civil court) action. Utter rubbish. This may sound like something not important but it really pays when it happens and is needed. That's why I stick to KF Amex Gold and Citi Visa Plat combo. Yes not the most optimal version but I don't want too may cards and I really appreciate Amex service which has come through 3 times now on disputes. |
Originally Posted by aster
(Post 16081120)
I'm just curious if the Flashpay card will be charged exactly the same fare.
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Originally Posted by kitsura
(Post 16153860)
Good news for those with the Maybank Horizon card, the ezlink 10x reward points is still valid.
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AMEX does not award points for EZ-link top-ups
Refer to point 4.1:
https://www.americanexpress.com/sg/p....shtml?page=CM No points accrue in the respect of: a. Charges processed and billed prior to the Enrolment Date or charges prepaid on any Card Account prior to the first billing statement for that Card Account following the Enrolment Date. b. Express Cash and other cash services. c. American Express Travellers Cheque purchases. d. Charges for dishonoured cheques. e. Finance charges – including charges and Card interest charges. f. Late payment and collection charges. g. Tax refunds from overseas purchases. h. Balance Transfer. i. Annual Card fees and Membership Rewards fees. j. Pay portion billed for a “Pay + Points” reward, where the Cardmember uses Points along with paying a specific amount to redeem the reward. k. Amount billed for purchase of Membership Rewards points to top-up your points balance. l. Purchase and top-up charges for EZ-Link cards |
Originally Posted by vsepr
(Post 16168733)
Refer to point 4.1:
https://www.americanexpress.com/sg/p....shtml?page=CM No points accrue in the respect of: a. Charges processed and billed prior to the Enrolment Date or charges prepaid on any Card Account prior to the first billing statement for that Card Account following the Enrolment Date. b. Express Cash and other cash services. c. American Express Travellers Cheque purchases. d. Charges for dishonoured cheques. e. Finance charges – including charges and Card interest charges. f. Late payment and collection charges. g. Tax refunds from overseas purchases. h. Balance Transfer. i. Annual Card fees and Membership Rewards fees. j. Pay portion billed for a “Pay + Points” reward, where the Cardmember uses Points along with paying a specific amount to redeem the reward. k. Amount billed for purchase of Membership Rewards points to top-up your points balance. l. Purchase and top-up charges for EZ-Link cards Best card for miles (KF or AM) is SCB Priority Banking Visa Infinite over here (HK$7.5 (S$1.25)/mile). |
Originally Posted by vsepr
(Post 16168733)
Refer to point 4.1:
https://www.americanexpress.com/sg/p....shtml?page=CM No points accrue in the respect of: a. Charges processed and billed prior to the Enrolment Date or charges prepaid on any Card Account prior to the first billing statement for that Card Account following the Enrolment Date. b. Express Cash and other cash services. c. American Express Travellers Cheque purchases. d. Charges for dishonoured cheques. e. Finance charges – including charges and Card interest charges. f. Late payment and collection charges. g. Tax refunds from overseas purchases. h. Balance Transfer. i. Annual Card fees and Membership Rewards fees. j. Pay portion billed for a “Pay + Points” reward, where the Cardmember uses Points along with paying a specific amount to redeem the reward. k. Amount billed for purchase of Membership Rewards points to top-up your points balance. l. Purchase and top-up charges for EZ-Link cards Does that mean that EZ Link now accept Amex? Until very recently they only accpeted locally issued Visa and MC. |
Originally Posted by vsepr
(Post 16162376)
Bad side of DBS Altitude AMEX:
1. Citi Platinum Visa/MasterCard: 5x rewards at departmental stores and supermarkets. Every $1 spent get 5 Citidollars = 2 miles, ie: $1 spent = 2 miles, compared to Citi Premiermiles: $1 = 1.2 miles Citibank 5X Rewards Merchants Department Stores (Note: Citi Rewards Card awards 10x points) Tangs . Isetan . John Little . Marks & Spencer . Metro . OG . Robinsons . BHG . Takashimaya Department Store. Supermarkets/Hypermarket Carrefour . Cold Storage . Giant . Market Place . NTUC Fair Price . Shop N Save . Singapore Meidi-Ya. Sheng Siong 2. Citi Clear Platinum Card: 5X Rewards at: Nightspots - Zouk, Butter Factory, Wala Wala Café Bar, Helipad, Timbre, Brewerkz, St James Power Station and more • Cinemas - Cathay, Golden Village, Shaw, Eng Wah and more • Cafes - Starbucks, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf ®, TCC, Spinelli, Coffee Club and more • Book Stores - Borders, Kinokuniya, MPH, Times, POPULAR Bookshop and more • Music Stores - Gramaphone, That CD Shop, HMV and more 3. Citi Rewards Card: Enjoy rewards X10 (S$ 1 spend = Citi$ 10) whenever you shop for shoes, bags or clothing (Eg: BATA, Giordano, Hang Ten, World of Sports etc) or at department stores, locally & overseas. S$1 spent = 4 miles! Our Premiermiles is HK$8 (S$1.33)/mile. Singapore deal is better. Citibank SG Platinum is comparable to our Citibank HK Rewards - dept stores, supermarket and telecom bill payment 5X. Your S$1 = 2 miles is almost equivalent to our HK$3=1 mile for that kind of spending. Ours is capped at $12,500 spending/month though, hope there're no such silly caps in SG. We don't have anything looking like your Clear or Rewards. Pity. On the whole I find the Singapore card offers better than HK. Will be coming over for Easter but with HK cards - still, earning 6X on our SCB HK AE spending in S$ (S$0.42/mile) isn't bad. In fact for these two months I've got 7.5X (S$0.33/mile) on card-present overseas spending! |
Originally Posted by demue
(Post 16168868)
Does that mean that EZ Link now accept Amex? Until very recently they only accpeted locally issued Visa and MC.
More info here: http://www.ezlink.com.sg/top-up/ez-reload-app-card.php |
Avoid Citi Rewards card
[QUOTE=vsepr;16162376]3. Citi Rewards Card: Enjoy rewards X10 (S$ 1 spend = Citi$ 10) whenever you shop for shoes, bags or clothing (Eg: BATA, Giordano, Hang Ten, World of Sports etc) or at department stores, locally & overseas. S$1 spent = 4 miles!
Department Stores Tangs . Isetan . John Little . Marks & Spencer . Metro . OG . Robinsons . BHG . Takashimaya Department Store. A word of caution about the Citi Rewards card. Citi says 10X rewards for shopping. I did just that recently in London shopping at Marks & Spencer. When the credit card bill came through, I found that I had earned only the base rate of 1X rewards. When I called the hotline, I was told that Citi's system had tagged Marks & Spencer as a supermarket (!) and hence I was not eligible for the 10X rewards. The inconsistency is that M&S in Singapore qualifies for 10X rewards. In view of this, I intend to just use my Maybank Horizon card in future. 5X rewards for ALL overseas spend. I may earn fewer miles but at least I know I will be getting the miles I deserve. None of this roulette playing with the Citi Rewards card. |
[QUOTE=chrispstan;16170175]
Originally Posted by vsepr
(Post 16162376)
3. Citi Rewards Card: Enjoy rewards X10 (S$ 1 spend = Citi$ 10) whenever you shop for shoes, bags or clothing (Eg: BATA, Giordano, Hang Ten, World of Sports etc) or at department stores, locally & overseas. S$1 spent = 4 miles!
Department Stores Tangs . Isetan . John Little . Marks & Spencer . Metro . OG . Robinsons . BHG . Takashimaya Department Store. A word of caution about the Citi Rewards card. Citi says 10X rewards for shopping. I did just that recently in London shopping at Marks & Spencer. When the credit card bill came through, I found that I had earned only the base rate of 1X rewards. When I called the hotline, I was told that Citi's system had tagged Marks & Spencer as a supermarket (!) and hence I was not eligible for the 10X rewards. The inconsistency is that M&S in Singapore qualifies for 10X rewards. In view of this, I intend to just use my Maybank Horizon card in future. 5X rewards for ALL overseas spend. I may earn fewer miles but at least I know I will be getting the miles I deserve. None of this roulette playing with the Citi Rewards card. |
[QUOTE=aacreative;16171248]
Originally Posted by chrispstan
(Post 16170175)
I am currently in a fight with Citi on something similar. Will update once it is resolved. Being nice to the CSO helps.
Will never use that crap card again. It is a crapshoot whether your spend is eligible for 10x rewards. |
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